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SUBMISSION RELEASE

By submitting your portfolio materials (the “Materials”) to Sony Pictures Animation Inc. and/or Chuck Productions, Inc. (referred to hereinafter individually and/or collectively as the context requires as “Company”), you acknowledge that you have read, understand, and agree to the terms and conditions set forth below ( “Terms”). 

You are submitting the Materials in consideration of an agreement by Company to review the Materials with the express understanding that you are limiting and subjecting your claim of rights as follows:

1. You understand and acknowledge that because of Company’s position in the entertainment industry, Company and Company’s parent, subsidiaries and affiliated entities and each of their respective employees receive numerous submissions or presentations of written and oral ideas, proposals, formats, stories, suggestions, materials and the like for feature films and/or television programs and/or other creative uses. You further acknowledge and agree that you are submitting or presenting the Materials to Company voluntarily, with the knowledge that Company would refuse to accept or consider the Materials unless you agreed to every provision set forth in these Terms.
2. You also understand and acknowledge that no confidential or fiduciary relationship now exists between you and Company, and that no such relationship is established by this release or by your submission or presentation of the Materials to Company.
3. You also understand and agree that Company may use, without any obligation whatsoever to you and without payment whatsoever to you, the Materials, or any part of the Materials that (a) is similar to or contains significant elements of a concept Company already had under consideration or in development or production at the time of your submission or presentation, or (b) is not unique, novel, original, or concrete so as to be entitled to intellectual property protection under the law, or (c) has been made public by anyone at the time of your submission or presentation, or (d) is in the public domain or otherwise would be freely usable by a third person as a member of the general public, or (e) is not protected by federal copyright law, or (f) was not fixed in a tangible means of expression or (g) was, is or may be obtained by Company from other sources, including Company’s own employees or associates or those of third parties independently of your creation, whether before or after the date of your submission or presentation of the Materials. Any of the material that, in accordance with the preceding sentence, Company is entitled to use without obligation to you is hereinafter referred to as “Unprotected Material.”  All or any part of the Materials, if any, that does not fall in the category of Unprotected Material is hereinafter referred to as “Protected Material.”
4. You also understand that Company has access to, may create or may have created, material, stories, ideas, proposals and the like which may be similar or identical to the Protected Material and you agree that you are not entitled to any compensation if Company uses material, stories, ideas, proposals and the like that was independently created by or on behalf of Company, or that came to Company from any source other than you, whether before or after the date of your submission of the Materials. You agree that, in any dispute arising from any alleged use of the Protected Material, you undertake the entire burden of proof of originality (g., proving that Company did not independently create the alleged similar materials or obtain them from a source other than you), access, copying and all other elements necessary to establish Company’s liability, and you agree that your submission or presentation of the Materials shall in no event give rise to a presumption or inference of copying or taking, or to a presumption or inference that anyone at or within Company, other than the particular individuals to whom the Materials are being submitted or presented, had access to the Materials; and you further agree that, should you bring any action against Company (including without limitation for wrongful appropriation of the Materials or any part thereof), your sole remedy against Company shall be limited to an arbitration for damages, if any (which shall in no event, under any theory, exceed the fair market value of the Materials on the date hereof, as determined by customary practice in the animated motion picture industry); that you shall in no event be entitled to an injunction or any other equitable relief.  You further agree that, as a condition precedent to any such action, you will give Company written notice of your contention that Company has no right to proceed under any of the subsections (a) through (g) in Paragraph 3 above, stating the particulars in complete detail; and that any such action shall be, and is hereby forever waived and barred, unless duly filed by you within six (6) months after Company’s first public release or use of the Materials, or thirty (30) days after Company notifies you in writing that Company denies liability to you, whichever is earlier.
5. You represent and warrant that:

• The Materials are original and not copied in whole or in part from any other work, except to the extent that it is based on works in the public domain of which you make Company aware at the time of submission;
• You are either the author and the sole and exclusive owner of the Materials and of all rights in and to the Materials, or the duly authorized agent of the author and owner of all rights to the Materials, and that you have full power and authority to submit or present the Materials to Company on the terms and conditions describe in these Terms, each and all of which shall be binding on you, on the author and owner if not you, and on your respective agents, heirs and assigns;
• The rights in and to the Materials have not been sold, granted or transferred to any third party which has or will impair their use as anticipated in these Terms;
• The Materials do not defame any person and do not violate the rights of any third party;
• The Materials have not, with the exception of portions in the public domain which you will advise Company of at the time of submission, been published in any manner anywhere in the universe;
• The Materials are not subject to litigation and are not threatened by any claim; and
• The Materials are not subject to any rules, regulations or contracts which would prevent their use as anticipated in these Terms.

6. These Terms shall inure to Company’s benefit and to the benefit of Company’s parent, subsidiaries and affiliated corporations and each of their officers, employees and agents. You acknowledge that this is a non-commissioned submission and that Company did not suggest or request that the Materials be created, submitted or presented.      
7. You release Company from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, or the like which you may have in connection with Company’s use of any materials which are similar or identical to the Materials, and you agree that you will not assert against Company any claim based on plagiarism, infringement, confidential relationship, implied contract, unfair competition or for any other reason whatsoever arising out of any alleged use by Company of the Materials. In agreeing to the provisions of this release, you understand that you may be waiving rights with respect to claims that are at this time unknown or unsuspected, and in accordance with such waiver, you hereby acknowledge that you have read and understand, and hereby expressly waive the benefits of Section 1542 of the Civil Code of California, which provides as follows:

“A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, AND THIS IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.”

8. You have retained a copy of the Materials and agree that Company shall not be obligated to return the Materials to you unless and until Company receives your written request therefor, but in any event you release Company from such obligation and/or all liability if the Materials are lost, misplaced, stolen or destroyed.
9. You hereby acknowledge Company is under no obligation to use the Materials in any manner. You hereby agree that neither your submission or presentation of, or Company’s review of, the Materials pursuant to these Terms constitutes or creates an implied-in-fact or implied-in-law contract, even if there exists an industry custom or practice to the contrary.
10. You hereby acknowledge that the internal substantive laws (as distinguished from the choice of law rules) of the State of California and the United States of America applicable to contracts made and performed entirely in California shall govern (i) the validity and interpretation of these Terms, (ii) the performance by you and Company of our respective obligations hereunder, and (iii) all other causes of action (whether sounding in contract or in tort) arising out of or relating to these Terms.
11. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Company and its owners, employees, agents, partners, affiliated organizations, officers, directors and shareholders (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all third party claims, demands, costs, liabilities and causes of action, proceedings, expenses, and/or liabilities of whatsoever nature (including, without limitation, outside attorneys’ and accountants’ fees and disbursements) resulting or arising from or in connection with: (i) Company’s and/or any of its affiliates’ or their respective licensees’ and/or authorized designees’ and/or any Indemnified Parties use, as permitted under these Terms, of the Materials; (ii) your failure to comply with any applicable laws; and/or (iii) a breach of any warranty or representation made by you in these Terms.
12. You agree that any and all disputes between you and Company (including, without limitation, any disputes relating to any of the matters referred to in subsections (i), (ii) or (iii) of Paragraph 11, above) shall be submitted to binding arbitration, before a single arbitrator, who shall be an attorney with not less than ten (10) years practice devoted primarily to the motion picture industry or a retired judge and shall be mutually agreed upon by Company and you (or if we are unable to agree, the arbitrator shall be appointed by the arbitration service). The arbitration shall take place in Los Angeles, California and shall be conducted, except as otherwise provided herein or as agreed by the parties, in accordance with the rules of JAMS.  The arbitrator shall be bound by the substantive rules of law imposed by the statutory case law of the United States and the State of California and the terms of this release and shall not have the jurisdiction to alter these Terms or to award punitive, exemplary or consequential damages.  The arbitration award in any such arbitration shall be final and binding as to all matters of substance and procedure, and in such event, if the decision is not fully complied with within fifteen (15) business days after the end of the appeal period (or the parties do not mutually agree to a different resolution prior to the expiration of such 15-business day period), the arbitrator’s decision may be enforced by a petition to the Superior Court for confirmation and enforcement of the award.  Prior to the appointment of the arbitrator or for remedies beyond the jurisdiction of an arbitrator, at any time, Company may seek temporary or preliminary relief in a court of competent jurisdiction pendente lite without thereby waiving its right to arbitration of the dispute or controversy as set forth herein.  All arbitration proceedings shall be closed to the public and confidential and all records relating thereto shall be permanently sealed, except as necessary to obtain court confirmation of the arbitration award as set forth hereinabove.  The fact that there is a dispute between the parties that is the subject of an arbitration shall also be confidential and neither party shall disclose, report, reveal, gossip or speculate about any arbitration, by any means including without limitation by e-mail, social media, blogging or tweeting.
13. You acknowledge that no oral representations of any kind have been made to you, and these Terms state our entire understanding regarding your Materials. Any modification or waiver of any of these Terms must be in writing signed by you and Company. 
14. You acknowledge that you have read these Terms before submitting the Materials, and that you understand these Terms. You also acknowledge that, by submitting the Materials, you are voluntarily waiving important legal rights, including your right to sue.

Company is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or other protected characteristics.
1/28/2021